Village chief, 2 Abu Sayyafs face raps

From the Sun Star-Zamboanga (Dec 5): Village chief, 2 Abu Sayyafs face raps

THE local police filed on Wednesday a case for illegal possession of explosive materials before the City Prosecutor’s Office against a village chief and two suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits in Zamboanga City. This was announced by Zamboanga City Police Office (ZCPO) Director James Mejia, who said they have thwarted a possible bomb attack in the city with the arrest of the suspects and confiscation of the explosive materials. Charged before the Zamboanga City Prosecutor’s Office were suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits Sulayman Cuadra and Nur Kandum and Ahmad Yusop, the village chief of Busay. Busay, located 29 kilometers east of Zamboanga City, is one of the four villages in Sacol Island. The village sits on the eastern side of the island.

Mejia said the suspects were arrested few days after they received reports about a plan by the lawless elements to carry out a bomb attack in Zamboanga City. The suspects, who were already under surveillance, were separately arrested Monday by policemen from the Regional Public Safety Battalion (RPSB), he said. Caudra was first arrested along Don Pablo Lorenzo Street downtown on Monday, Mejia said, adding that the arrest led also to the apprehension of Yusop and Kandum, who was intercepted aboard a government-owned vehicle at the RPSB checkpoint around 5:40 p.m. Monday in the village of Mercedes. The police said Cuadra was involved in the abduction of 15 workers at the Golden Harvest Plantation in Tairan, Lantawan, Basilan. Kandum was involved in the 2006 abduction in Tumahubong, Sumisip, also in Basilan, Mejia disclosed.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/zamboanga/local-news/2012/12/05/village-chief-2-abu-sayyafs-face-raps-256868